The field of the invention relates generally to a user interface, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for displaying program and I/O controls.
This section of this document is intended to introduce various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present invention described and/or claimed below. This section provides background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present invention. It should be understood that the statements in this section of this document are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Graphical user interfaces proliferate in modern computer and data processing systems. One such system is a medical imaging system, such as an x-ray system, computed tomography (CT) system, positron emission tomography (PET) system, electron beam tomography (EBT) system, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system, ultrasound system, tomosynthesis system, and so forth. A typical user interface for a medical imaging system includes a data window and a plurality of program controls for performing various functions associated with manipulating the data and controlling various aspects of the imaging machine used to collect the data. For example, the medical imaging systems may produce detailed images of a patient's internal tissues and organs, thereby mitigating the need for invasive exploratory procedures and providing valuable tools for identifying and diagnosing disease or for verifying wellness.
A commonly occurring pattern in graphical user interfaces is the activation of a program control, such as a command button, which upon activation, starts a processing activity that requires further input from the user or provides output data (e.g., completion status) to the user. Typically, subsequent I/O exchanges are handled using pop-up dialog windows containing the display and input components with which the user must interact to complete the activity.
There are several disadvantages to this pattern. First, the dialog windows have no obvious relationship with the button that created them. Multiple processing activities may be progressing at a given time. The lack of connection between the command button and the dialog window increases confusion. Second, the dialog windows at least partially obscure other program controls or data present on the screen. The obscured information may be useful for monitoring one or more processes and may actually be useful for entering the data required in the dialog window itself. If other windows can be raised over the dialog window, they may not be returned to the forefront when needed. Hence, the user may not even realize that additional information is required to complete the processing task initiated by the command button.
If two or more dialog driven activities are in progress simultaneously, the dialog windows complete not only with the underlying screen information, but with each other as well. The user must manually rearrange the dialog windows to reveal the necessary information or to access information on other processes. Since the pattern relies on the ability of the user to move the dialogs, the potential exists that information may be obscured that should not be obscured during the operation of the system (e.g., for equipment or safety reasons). Important status information may be obscured by one of the dialog windows.
The present invention is directed to overcoming, or at least reducing the effects of, one or more of the problems set forth above.